I just finished a heart-lifting experience of working for several days with Togo’s in San Jose, CA. They are a sandwich company with high quality ingredients which uses a unique deli style 1:1 service model. Unlike Subway and Quizno’s, they offer a personal connection between the sandwich maker and the guest. The company was founded in 1971 outside San Jose State University, by a young college student with a big appetite and a little money. He also had a clear vision of Togo’s as a service organization:

It was really fun working at Togo’s. We put on a show daily, dazzling the customers with our sandwich making skills, speed of service, and friendly interaction. There was a lot of camaraderie among the crew members and the atmosphere was a bit like a circus and the customers were part of the festivities.

Jeff Sweetman, Mike Cobler, the Founder of Togos, and Barbara

However, over the years, that vision became increasingly blurred and service became re-defined as a set of tasks instead of a passion to serve. So, our cause was to bring a team together for a day to craft a new service vision, mission, values, and plan that would re-energize the franchisees and employees and give them a laser focus on their strengths – quality of food, speed, one-on-one interactions, and an edgy, fun atmosphere. And what a day it was! 😉

Jeff Sweetman, the Director of Franchise Services, took the lead in this process by holding town hall meetings with many front line employees, surveying all Togo’s sandwich club members, and collating all the complaints since the beginning of the year. It was amazing how closely this feedback correlated! We also met with the founder of Togo’s, Tony Gioia, the CEO, and several members of the Executive Leadership Team to get their support and buy-in. Finally, a team was hand selected, consisting of several employees, some key franchisees, and several corporate staff, and we spent the day focusing on our objectives. The team is called “The Johnny Project” based on my story of “Johnny the Bagger®”, showing how one person can change a whole culture.

Some of the Togo's Franchisee Team

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Barbara was recently featured in the “Gulf Coast Business Review Meeting Planners’ Guide 2010” in an article titled, “Make Your Presentations Sizzle!” by Heidi Kurpiela. The Headline:

“International motivational speaker and self-help author Barbara Glanz shares her presentation wisdom. One of her ‘musts’: Touch people’s hearts.”

She goes on to explain, “Here’s why she is regarded as one of the best:”

* SHE’S FUN.
* SHE MAKES THE CONTENT PERSONAL AND RELATABLE.
* HER ADVICE IS EASY TO FOLLOW AND SHARE.
* SHE USES SENSORY STIMULATION.
* SHE’S GENUINE.
* SHE EXUDES CONFIDENCE.

A sidebar includes “Barbara Glanz’s Do’s and Don’ts:”

DO’s

* Organize your thoughts before speaking.
* Share a few powerful personal stories.
* Practice what you preach.
* Be positive and energetic on the podium.
* Give people ideas and advice they can implement.

DON’Ts

* Don’t wing it.
* Don’t focus only on yourself.
* Don’t cram too much rhetoric or theory down people’s throats.
* Don’t lay it on too think.
* Don’t shamelessly pitch your own books and DVDs.

If you would like to read the whole article and get more specific ideas, go to pages 8 and 9 http://www.review.net/legal-notice-uploads/GCBRMeetingPlannersGuide.pdf.

To learn even more about Barbara’s work, go to www.barbaraglanz.com

Yesterday I got an email from a person from Walmart who had heard me speak at the Society for Human Resource Management convention in San Diego last week. He had purchased my book, “The Simple Truths of Appreciation — How Each of Us Can Choose to Make a Difference” and these were his words:

“I just finished reading your book ‘The Simple Truths of Appreciation.’ I am in the middle of an e-mail to a colleague who has been a sounding board and truly become a good friend. I am sending him a note to thank him for being an important part of my life. I have a couple of others that are on my ‘hit’ list today to send e-mails to as a result of reading your book. I have a lunch appointment with a young man who is an HR professional with another company. Plan on appreciating him for the contributions he is making to our local SHRM chapter. I am also thinking through how to put my “personal signature” on all my work. This is fun stuff! You have a true gift, Barbara. Your ability to make people feel special is infectious. Thanks for making the (my) world a better place!”

Just a few minutes ago, I received this follow-up email from him:

“Wow! Look at the response I got from the first ‘thank you’ email I sent today. Made me feel good! This is an excerpt of the response:

Man! Just read this and I got a little emotional… I have an all day meeting with Store managers in my region today and this is just what I needed to get me going.

That is the power of appreciation. ”

To order Barbara’s book, go to www.barbaraglanz.com/products/books/